Feature

Mother Nature

By Steven Robert Allen

WINNER—”Aspen Shadows” by Tom Sahs. We had unanimous agreement among our quartet of judges that this arresting photo should take home the prize in this category. Squint your eyes a bit, and Sahs’ simple, beautifully composed image of bars of shadow curving across unblemished snowcould almost be an abstract painting.

“Aspen Sky” by David W. Cramer. A common but nicely captured scene of aspen trunks topped with autumn gold.

Untitled by Ruth Anne O’Keefe. Bosque del Apache is one of the most popular places in the state to snap pictures of Mama Nature. O’Keefe’s photo of this great blue heron, though, stood apart from more conventional fare. It’s hard to believe that thing is real.

“Tents on Mars’ by Chad Johannesen. Yeah, all right, Johannesen resorted to some Photoshop trickery to create this freaky image of the natural sculptures at Tent Rocks National Monunment just west of Cochiti Lake. That didn’t bother us, though. I felt like pouring on some chocolate syrup, grabbing a spoon and digging in.

“Window to the Stars” by Jim Gale. It took a 20 minute exposure to catch these star trails under Ventana Arch at El Malpais near Grants. Gale tells us that the arch is lit completely with natural light from the moon. He also mentions that the trail to the observation area beneath the arch is closed at night, so he really wasn’t supposed to be there. Don’t tell anybody.